PROJECT 1 - INTRACELLULAR NETWORKS. Project Leader: J. Broach (Molbio) Six research groups in the Center work on distinct examples of intracellular networks. In all cases the approach to modeling a signaling network consists of a joint effort of experimental biologists and mathematically oriented theorists. The dynamic interplay between the experimentalists and the theorists occurs on a daily basis and is made possible by the close physical proximity and the collaborative mind set (see Figure 1) of everyone associated with the Center. In addition, all the groups draw heavily on the core facilities of the Center; microarray, mass spectrometry and imaging facilities provide the experimentalists with the means of acquiring requisite quantitative data and the computational core provides a means of storing and analyzing those data. Two fundamental problems in cellular biology are being addressed: transcriptional networks (i.e. defining and analyzing how cells coordinate their complex transcriptional changes that occur under changing environments, and coordination of cell growth (i.e. how cells manage to maintain balanced growth over a wide range of growth rates and environmental perturbations).